Dozens of primary and nursery pupils have returned to home learning following the temporary closure of an island school due to a confirmed case of Covid-19.
Stornoway primary and nursery will remain closed to the majority of pupils until next week after a staff member tested positive for the virus.
Western Isles Council (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar) enacted the precautionary closure of the Jamieson Drive campus from Wednesday evening, instructing pupils to conduct lessons from home.
However, the Stornoway Childcare Centre will remain open as usual.
Pupils of critical key workers will still be allowed to attend lessons at the Stornoway campus with a small number of teachers in place.
The rest of the school’s cohort and staff will adopt distant learning from home.
A deep clean is now under way at the school.
School transport has also been temporarily suspended in light of the closure and replaced with an on-demand service for any key workers.
Education officials will actively engage with parents in the coming days outlining arrangements for the remainder of the school week.
Councillor Paul Steele, chairman for Education, Sport and Children’s Services Committee stressed the importance of “safety first”.
He said: “It’s disappointing that the school has had to close but I think it is the right thing to do, taking precautions.
“We have got procedures in place for when this was going to happen so it’s good to see they have kicked in.
“In a way we are quite fortunate that it has not taken hold in many other schools since last March.”
He added: “I think the procedures that are in place should put us in a good position but we will just have to wait and see what the next few days bring us.”